Earwax removal service

Available at selected stores

Wax is for candles

The safest and easiest way to get rid of excess or stubborn earwax is to see a professional. Several Specsavers stores now offer earwax removal services by our trained and accredited hearing care professionals.
€50. No wax, no fee.

To book an appointment, please call your nearest store offering the service and ask about a wax triage appointment, where a hearing care professional will give the advice needed, soften the wax ready for removal and then arrange your removal appointment.

What is earwax?

Earwax is probably something you would never think about, but it’s actually a very important element of your ear health. Essentially, earwax is an efficient selfcleaning service for your ears, and helps to protect the sensitive ear canal from things like bacteria and debris that can cause infections.

Produced naturally by glands in the ear canal, you’ll recognise earwax as any colour from yellow, to bright orange, to dark brown. Your body will normally produce enough earwax to maintain health on its own, but sometimes this wax can become hard and impacted, which can lead to problems like hearing loss, or discomfort.

Earwax is a good thing to have in your ears, that’s why your body naturally produces it.

Anti-bacterialIts sticky texture prevents bacteria and germs from moving further into the ear, where they can cause infections.

In-built cleaning serviceEventually, the earwax containing any trapped dirt or bacteria will simply fall out without you noticing, cleaning as it goes.

Maintains pHEarwax lubricates the skin and helps to maintain the ear’s natural pH balance, which prevents irritation and dryness, as well as preserving overall ear health. Its slightly acidic pH is hostile to bacteria, stopping growth and possible infection.

Keeps out unwelcome guestsEarwax is also a natural insect repellent – so if you’ve ever felt a tickling sensation in your ear, you don’t need to worry about anything creepy nor crawly.

Your ears are designed to be self-cleaning and will normally produce enough earwax to prevent problems occurring, and make its way out of the ear, completely on its own.

Many people use cotton buds in an effort to ‘clean’ their ears from excess wax, but you’re actually more likely to cause earwax blockage and further issues. Rather than removing the earwax, it instead pushes it further into the ear, which leads to a build-up, or impacted wax.

If you experience any of these symptoms, you may need to have the earwax buildup removed. If not removed, impacted earwax can lead to infection, which will need to be treated by a doctor.

Common causes of impacted wax:

Cotton buds

Hearing aids

Earbud earphones

Earplugs

Symptoms of impacted earwax:

Sudden, or impartial hearing loss

Tinnitus

A feeling of fullness in the ear

Earache

How to remove earwax

Traditionally, medical professionals would use methods such as irrigation, ear syringing, or candling to remove an earwax build-up. We avoid these methods as they can cause additional complications to your ear health, such as infections, tinnitus, and damage to the eardrum.

Microsuction

Ear microsuction is the quickest and safest method of earwax removal, including hard or impacted wax. The process is much more comfortable as it avoids touching the sensitive skin of the ear canal, and has no contact with the eardrum.

The medical suction device will quickly and carefully remove the earwax, whilst constantly maintaining vision of the ear canal using a microscope. So we’ll be able to ensure wax removal quickly, comfortably, and with minimal risk of further complications.

Manual removal

This method of earwax removal is performed with the use of tiny specialist tools to gently tease out the wax from the ear canal.

This would usually be used in minor cases, with soft wax. For cases of impacted or hard wax, the wax would require softening over a few days with drops beforehand.

Ear microsuction is the quickest and safest method of earwax removal, including hard or impacted wax. The process is much more comfortable as it avoids touching the sensitive skin of the ear canal, and has no contact with the eardrum.

The medical suction device will quickly and carefully remove the earwax, whilst constantly maintaining vision of the ear canal using a microscope. So we’ll be able to ensure wax removal quickly, comfortably, and with minimal risk of further complications.